We continue our Summer School blog series with tips from the Kronos Quartet about collaboration and its impact on one's career.

In this Professional Training Workshop, the Kronos Quartet discuss their early career and provide recommendations for building a professional musical life—from exhibiting a sense of resilience and confidence when collaborating to being willing to wholly dedicate yourself to your music.

"Never feel hesitant about walking up to a performer and telling them you have a piece of music. The performer's going to be thrilled ... And it works both ways."

—Violinist John Sherba

"At that point, my wife and I were living in a one-room apartment with a Murphy bed, and that became the Kronos office. In those days I was the manager of the group ... We played everywhere we possibly could, and we always played a lot of music."

—Violinist David Harrington

“I think every person is very fragile … but that doesn't mean you have to play [their music].”

—Violinist David Harrington

As the Summer School series continues, we'll share more of this Professional Training Workshop, in which Kronos Quartet leads three emerging quartets in a weeklong exploration of the string quartet repertoire that Kronos has built over 35 years of commissioning new music. Virtuoso pipa player Wu Man joins as guest faculty, working with the quartets and two young pipa artists in some of Kronos's collaborative repertoire.

For more information about applying for an opportunity to work with renowned artists such as Emmanuel Pahud, Marilyn Horne, John Adams and David Robertson, and the Takács Quartet, visit:Professional Training Workshops